Open-type baskets, drawers, trays, bins, and the like are used to store food, e.g., loose food items, packages, fruits, vegetables, small containers, netting bags of loose items, ice, and the like in refrigerators and freezers. Depending on a given OEM refrigerator/freezer manufacturer's desires, and for cost reasons, such storage baskets have been commonly formed of a single material, e.g., plastic, wire, sheet metal, or glass.
For example, such a single-material storage basket can be an open-top, rectangular-shaped basket totally formed from welded wire components, and then coated with a painted surface. Or they can be a tray entirely formed of injection-molded plastic, such as often used for so-called fruit/vegetable hydrator bins. Or they can be an open-top container totally formed from stamped and bent, or welded-up, sheet metal panels, and then powder-paint coated. One representative example of such a prior art form of a single-material refrigerator basket (steel wire) is typified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,046. Another version of a prior art one-material (molded plastic) drawer is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,406,833.
There are benefits and disadvantages inherent in each type of such single-material basket for refrigerator and freezer use. For example, totally wire-formed baskets, while providing good airflow, will allow small loose food particles, ice chips, food “seepage” liquids (e.g., softened tomato “juices”) and such flow through the wire basket bottom and then collect in and soil the bottom of the refrigerator liner, or litter the next shelf section below the wire basket. Also, while they allow for good visibility into the basket's interior, such wire baskets, especially the lower side portions and bottom thereof, are hard to clean.
Then, as to sheet metal-formed baskets, while the solid bottom portion prevents food particles, food seepage, ice particles and the like from falling through the basket onto the refrigerator liner, and also permits easy cleaning, such solid side wall and bottom baskets inhibit good airflow within and around the basket's contents.
Such single material storage baskets, trays, drawers and bins are regularly used in various designs of refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator/freezer combination models. Such models can include but are not limited to so-called top-mount models, side-by-side models, bottom-mount models, French door models, upright freezers, and chest freezers. Such various refrigerator and freezer models each present significantly different interior configurations, support, and environmental characteristics for such baskets. (As used herein, the term “basket” shall be understood to equally include trays, drawers, and bins). For example, depending upon the associated refrigerator's or freezer's design, the configuration of such baskets can be generally rectangular; have straight, inwardly or outwardly slanted, or curved side walls; have a planar bottom wall, or instead have formed-in drip retention channels; and the like. Further, the aspect ratio for a storage basket (the ratio between the basket's height versus the front-to-back depth and/or the width of the basket) can be relatively large (deep basket), or can instead be small (shallow basket). Further, such baskets can be used for specialized food containers or packages (e.g., zipper-type containers, cans, jars, bottles, frozen packages), for sections of the refrigerator where or greater or less humidity is desired, for a temperature different from the rest of the refrigerator, for ice cubes, for foods needing significant (or no) airflow, and so forth. Thus, such storage baskets (including when used as hydration bins), must work with any and all such various overall designs and shaped environments for such refrigerators and freezers.
There remains a need for a refrigerator or freezer storage basket that is formed in an aesthetic design, is functional, easily cleanable, uses minimal material, permits proper visibility and airflow, and that is robust in strength to withstand the use associated with the residential and commercial refrigerators and freezers described above.